Scottish Executive

Cancer

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9953 by Ms Margaret Curran on 8 September 2004, what plans it has to inform patients diagnosed with terminal cancer of their entitlement to benefits and other financial support.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the question S2W-9760 answered on 16 August 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8689 by Mr Tom McCabe on 3 June 2004, whether NHS Borders applied for capital funding to support the development of premises for the provision of NHS dental facilities and, if so, for what projects and why the bid was unsuccessful.

Rhona Brankin: NHS Borders did not apply for capital funding to support the development of premises for the provision of NHS dental facilities.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been provided for the development of clean technologies in each of the last five years, detailing the source of funding in each case.

Allan Wilson: Funding for the development of technologies is available from a wide range of public and private sources, including (but not limited to) the Scottish Executive, the Department of Trade and Industry, the enterprise networks, the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust.

General Practitioners

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what change there has been in the number of call-outs for GPs in NHS board areas where NHS 24 is in operation, in total and broken down by area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Evaluation has shown that in Greater Glasgow the introduction of NHS 24 has been associated with a reduction in GP home visits from 15.5% to 12.3% of calls to out-of-hours services, and in Aberdeen has been associated with a reduction in GP home visits from 21.8% to 14.5% of calls to out-of-hours services.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10305 by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 September 2004, when the work was commissioned to publish the Scottish figures contained in the United Kingdom’s return for the World Health Organization’s European health for all database; which of the figures listed in the database will be published, and when and where these figures will be published.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive commissioned the work to identify and publish the Scottish information contained within the WHO European Health for All Database in September 2004. The information on which figures will be produced, where and when they will be published, will not be available until the first stage of this work is completed. I expect this first stage of the work to be completed by the middle of October 2004, and I shall write to Mr Maxwell as soon as possible thereafter to inform him of the implications for the availability of Scottish information from the WHO European Health for All database. A copy of my letter will be placed in the Parliaments’ Reference Centre in due course.

Holyrood Inquiry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the quality of civil service advice in respect of the Holyrood project given to the Minister for Finance and the First Minister in the Scottish Executive would have been impaired had it been made public at the time.

Ms Margaret Curran: It is a long-standing convention of government that internal opinion, advice, recommendation and deliberation should not be disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. The advice to ministers referred to was provided on the basis of that convention.

Holyrood Inquiry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government in respect of amending the Scotland Act 1998 arising from Lord Fraser’s report of the Holyrood Inquiry.

Ms Margaret Curran: Section 21 of the Scotland Act 1998 provides for the establishment, membership and functions of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body. The Executive will wish to consider the views of the Presiding Officer, other members of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body and other interested parties before reaching a view on whether any changes in the powers of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body might be appropriate.

Justice

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reform the Land Court.

Cathy Jamieson: There are no plans to reform the Scottish Land Court. Its functions have been extended in relation to agricultural holdings and environmental designations and the Executive is proposing to do likewise in relation to crofting. The enhanced role of the court in these areas has been generally welcomed.

Legal Aid

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Legal Aid Board will introduce a block fee system in solemn cases; if so, how it will be implemented and when it will commence; whether there will be a transitional scheme, and how such a scheme will relate to any changes resulting from the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Hugh Henry: As part of the package of High Court reform the Executive is fully committed to putting in place appropriate legal aid arrangements. This will include a block fee regime for solemn legal aid. Interim measures are being developed to facilitate the introduction of High Court reform in early 2005. It is intended to have long-term measures, taking account of early experience of the working of High Court reform, in place by autumn 2005.

NHS Expenditure

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of NHS consultations has been in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards consult patients, the public and local communities regularly about a variety of matters and the information on the cost of these consultations is not held centrally.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the formula for calculating police force funding.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the conclusions are of the review of police funding.

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in determining the grant aided expenditure for Fife Constabulary, following the review of police funding.

Cathy Jamieson: Yes. Today I am publishing the findings of the Police Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) Working Group which was set up to consider how best to distribute police funding between Scottish forces. The working group has produced a new formula which aims to ensure that the way we distribute funding is linked much more directly to the cost of policing each force and recommends a target share for each force. The formula takes into account a range of factors including the population in each area, deprivation and the demands on forces.

  An interim report from the working group, submitted in late 2002, had indicated that the allocations at that time merited adjustment and additional resources. As a result, an additional £4.5 million was added to the GAE allocations for Grampian Police, Fife Constabulary, Central Scotland Police and Northern Constabulary in 2005-06.

  The group’s final report now makes clear that further adjustment is needed and recommends this continues to be achieved by "levelling up" the funding allocations for forces rather than by redistributing existing funding between forces. I have accepted this recommendation which means that no force will have its allocation cut as a result of the model. The overall extra amounts allocated for levelling-up are £5.5 million in 2005-06, rising to £8.5 million in 2006-07 and £15.5 million in 2007-08. We intend to find the balance needed to complete levelling-up by 2009-10. Once the levelling up process is complete, subsequent allocations will then be made using the new formula.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9781 by Hugh Henry on 12 August 2004, how much additional funding will be provided by the Her Majesty’s Government to help meet the agreed additional policing costs arising from the G8 summit at Gleneagles.

Cathy Jamieson: It is too early, at this stage, to say what the total policing cost of the G8 Summit at Gleneagles will be and therefore what amount of additional funding will be provided by the UK Government. A group involving representatives from UK Government departments, Tayside Police and the Executive has been set up to assess what the additional policing costs will be. That group’s conclusions will inform the level of additional funds to be provided by the UK Government.

Prison Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive under what exemption to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information it decided to withhold information contained in appendix A of schedule 2 to Contract between The Scottish Ministers and Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd for the Provision of Prisoner Escort and Court Custody Services in Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information was withheld under exemptions 7(a) and 13.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of (a) self-injury and (b) attempted suicide have occurred in each segregation unit in young offenders’ institutions in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of incidents of self-harm and attempted suicide in HM Young Offenders' Institution, Polmont (SPS’ main young male offenders' establishment) for the years in which records have been kept is as follows:

  

 
2002
2003


Self-Harm
43
23


Attempted Suicide
8
6

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, prisoners were employed at the time of the imposition of their sentence.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service does not hold such information in respect of sentenced prisoners.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1353 by Tavish Scott on 29 July 2003, whether it is able to sell its interest in Partnerships UK on the open market.

Mr Tom McCabe: No, the Scottish Executive shares are held in a share category established specifically for a holding by ministers and not for open market trading. The share structure of Partnerships UK is intended to ensure a balance of private and public sector interests within a private sector classified company, and it is important that this structure be maintained and Scottish interests recognised. Accordingly, the Scottish Executive has no plans to dispose of its shareholding in a body that provides the dedicated and non-conflicted private sector expertise and resources essential to support the public sector in building better partnerships across the UK.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it played in the appointment of the directors of Partnerships UK.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive is a minority shareholder and the role it plays over the appointment of directors of Partnerships UK is appropriate to the level of shareholding it holds. The board of PUK is made up of members from the private sector and two non-Executive Directors appointed by HM Treasury. There is an Advisory Council which oversees the work of PUK and is made up exclusively of members from the public sector. Scottish ministers are represented on the council.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the announcement in The Future of Rail of further devolution of powers in respect of rail infrastructure, whether the Executive has secured additional funding to enable it to exercise such powers; if so, how much and what proportion of such funding will be spent on (a) the rail service and (b) network maintenance, and whether details of such funding will be announced to the Parliament by the Minister for Finance and Public Services.

Nicol Stephen: The changes, outlined in the UK Government The Future of Rail White Paper, remain subject to agreement regarding the transfer of appropriate resources from the UK Government to the Scottish Executive.

Rail Network

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6813 by Nicol Stephen on 5 April 2004, what (a) track and signalling and (b) station incremental output statements are currently being prepared jointly by it and the Strategic Rail Authority for possible future implementation.

Nicol Stephen: None. The development and approval of such schemes remains a matter for the Strategic Rail Authority.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of expenditure was on developing renewable energy in each of the last three years, expressed also on a per capita basis, and how this expenditure compares to similar expenditure in other European countries.

Allan Wilson: The information is not available in the form requested. A separate budget for renewable energy was not introduced until 2003-04, when direct spending from within the Executive’s energy budget amounted to £1.6 million. This compares to an estimated £0.4 million in 2002-03.

  These figures do not take into account budget transfers to Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to fund and operate our Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative (SCHRI). We estimate that Executive spending on the SCHRI from its introduction in 2002 until April 2005 will come to a further £5 million.

  The Executive has also contributed funding of £2.2 million towards the establishment of the European Marine Energy Centre.

  We also fund a range of other renewables support measures through the activities of HIE, Scottish Enterprise, EST and the Carbon Trust, in addition to direct business support and Regional Selective Assistance funding for small businesses and companies involved in renewable energy activities.

  Renewables activity in Scotland also benefits from a range of UK capital and research support schemes administered by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Awards to Scottish companies from DTI renewable programmes since 2002 amount to an estimated £28 million.